The High Lord

18 The Guild's Judgment

As soon as Lorlen called for another break for discussion, Dannyl hurried to Rothen's side. He had seen his friend react to Sonea's admission as if he had been struck a physical blow. Now Rothen stood staring at the floor.

Dannyl reached his friend and put a hand on his shoulder.

'You two never stop surprising me,' Dannyl said gently. 'Why didn't you tell me the real reason you lost Sonea's guardianship?'

Rothen shook his head. 'I couldn't. He might have... well, I guess he has now.' He looked at Sonea, then sighed. 'This is my fault. I convinced her to join the Guild in the first place.'

'No, it isn't. You couldn't possibly know this would happen.'

'No, but I made her question her beliefs when she first came here. I taught her to look beyond them, so she would accept her place among us. She probably did the same for... for...'

'What if all this is true? Then she had good reasons for what she did.'

Rothen looked up, his expression bleak. 'Does it matter? She just ensured her own execution.'

Surveying the room, Dannyl noted the expressions of the Higher Magicians, then the King. They looked wary and anxious. Then he looked at Sonea and Akkarin. Sonea stood straight and determined, though how much of that was forced he couldn't guess. The High Lord's expression was... controlled. Looking closer, Dannyl read anger in the set of Akkarin's jaw.

He hadn't intended for Sonea to reveal so much, Dannyl mused.

But, despite this, he and Sonea now stood closer together. A few steps, and they would be side by side. Dannyl nodded to himself.

'I don't know if she has, Rothen.'

Once the Higher Magicians had returned to their seats, they began to relate what the members of their disciplines had expressed. Lorlen listened closely.

'Many find his story hard to believe,' Vinara said, 'but some have pointed out that, if he was seeking to justify his actions with a fabricated story, surely he would come up with something more convincing than this.'

'My Warriors also find it disturbing,' Balkan added. 'They say we cannot ignore the possibility that he speaks the truth, and we face a threat of attack from Sachaka. We must investigate further.'

Sarrin nodded. 'Yes, my people agree. Many have asked if there is information in the books we might use to defend ourselves, should an attack come. I fear there is not. If Akkarin is telling the truth, we may need him.'

'I, too, would like to question Akkarin further,' Balkan said. 'I would normally ask that he be detained until his claim is proven.'

'We cannot imprison him effectively,' Vinara reminded him.

'No.' Balkan pursed his lips, then looked up at Lorlen. 'Do you think he would cooperate?'

Lorlen shrugged. 'He has up till now.'

'That doesn't mean he will continue to,' Vinara said. 'For all we know, we could be doing everything he intended us to do. He might become very unhelpful if we took a different path.'

Sarrin frowned. 'If he wanted to take control of us by force, he would have attempted it already.'

'That clearly isn't what he wants,' Balkan agreed. 'Though this whole story of Sachakan magicians might be meant to confuse and delay us.'

'Delay us for what?' Sarrin asked. Balkan's shoulders lifted. 'I have no idea.'

'But we cannot let him go,' Vinara, said firmly. 'Akkarin has freely admitted to practicing black magic. Whether he committed the murders or not, we cannot show any tolerance for someone of his standing breaking one of our most serious laws. Akkarin must be seen to be punished.'

'The appropriate punishment is execution,' Sarrin reminded her. 'Would you continue cooperating if you knew that was to be your punishment?'

'No doubt he would object to us trying to bind his powers, too.' Vinara sighed. 'How strong is he, Balkan?'

The Warrior considered. 'That depends. Is he telling the truth? He said a black magician with ten slaves could grow to the strength of hundreds of Guild magicians in a matter of weeks. He has been back eight years, though he claims he did not begin using it again until five years ago. Five years is a long time to be strengthening oneself, even if it was only from one servant - until recently.'

'He has fought nine slaves during that time,' Sarrin added. 'That would weaken him, too.'

Balkan nodded. 'He might not be as strong as we fear. If he isn't telling the truth, however, the situation may be far worse. He may have been strengthening himself for longer. He may have been killing people in the city. And then there's Lord Jolen and his household.' Balkan sighed. 'Even if I could be sure of his honesty and strength, there is another factor that makes it impossible to predict what will happen if we tried to use force.'

'What is that?' Vinara asked.

Balkan turned to the left. 'Look at Sonea closely. Do you sense it?'

They turned to stare at the novice.

'Power,' Sarrin said.

'Yes,' Balkan said. 'A great deal of it. She hasn't yet learned to hide it as he does.' He paused. 'She said he was teaching her black magic two nights ago. I don't know how long this training ought to take, but he claims he learned the gist of it in one lesson. Sonea didn't have this aura of strength when she was practicing in the Arena a week ago. I'm sure I would have sensed it if she had. I think this woman she admits to killing was the source of her sudden increase in strength. Sonea could not have become so powerful in one night by killing any ordinary woman.'

They turned to regard the novice in thoughtful silence.

'Why did Akkarin attempt to hide Sonea's involvement?' Sarrin wondered aloud.

'And why did she decide to reveal it?' Vinara added.

'Perhaps he wanted to ensure someone with the ability to fight the Sachakans remained alive,' Sarrin said. He frowned. 'That does suggest that the books, alone, are not enough.'

'Perhaps he just wanted to protect her,' Vinara said.

'Lord Balkan,' a new voice spoke.

The Warrior looked up in surprise. 'Yes, Your Majesty?'

All heads turned to face the King. He was leaning over the back of the empty High Lord's chair, his green eyes bright and piercing.

'Do you believe the Guild is capable of driving Akkarin out of the Allied Lands?'

Balkan hesitated. 'I honestly don't know, Your Majesty. Even if we managed it, it would exhaust most of our magicians. Should these Sachakan magicians exist, they may see it as the perfect opportunity to invade.'

The young King absorbed this.

'Administrator Lorlen, do you believe he will comply if he is commanded to leave the Allied Lands?'

Lorlen blinked in surprise. 'Do you mean... exile?'

'Yes.'

The Higher Magicians looked at each other thoughtfully.

'The nearest non-allied land is Sachaka,' Balkan pointed out. 'If his story is true...'

Lorlen frowned, then slipped his hands in his pockets. His fingers touched the ring.

- Akkarin?

- Yes?

- Will you accept exile?

- Instead of fighting my way out of here? Lorlen caught a faint amusement. I was hoping for better.

Silence followed.